The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 228: Bygones Be Bygones

Chapter 228: Bygones Be Bygones

Annalise walked out of the royal study along with her parents and headed straight toward the staircase leading downstairs. Her head was buzzing with all the information she just acquired.

While it was pretty clear at this point that she was really not the real daughter of the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess, no one seemed to know her true origin which ultimately kept her true identity a mystery.

She was more than aware of her parents’ presence right behind her but she still couldn’t find enough courage to talk to them. She wasn’t really mad at them, especially after hearing her father speaking his heart out back in the study. She was just a little skeptical about what to really say to them.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when her gaze landed on the three dark lords that were waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. A smile bloomed on her lips as all her worries seemed to escape her body and she finally got to feel a little light as her body relaxed just at their sight.

"Mother... Father..."

The three dark lords greeted the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess which made Annalise shift aside to allow them space to interact face-to-face.

"My Lords..."

Her parents greeted the lords in return and smiles finally made an appearance on their faces.

She was so lost in thoughts that she almost got taken aback when she felt an arm snaking around her shoulders before she was pulled against a hard and warm body. As she turned her face to look at the man, she found a smiling Kenric looking back at her.

She glared at him while trying to pull away, however, the man was in no mood of letting her go. "Kenric..." She tried reminding the third dark lord that they were in her parents’ presence but it appeared to be in vain as the man only tightened his hold on her.

"Father, Mother, how about you give us a chance to host a small banquet for you both at our home? We will love to be the host for at least once." Damien asked as politely as he ever could, surprising Annalise with both his tone and his request.

She turned to look at her parents and found them looking back at her as if they were waiting for her to say something. Without wasting any time, she hurriedly nodded her head and added, "The Lords are right. Mother and Father should have a meal with us at the castle. We all will love it... I will love it."

There it was - the truth. Her husbands were undoubtedly giving her a chance to make everything right between her and her parents, she would be completely stupid to throw away such help.

The Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess exchanged a quick glance between the two of them before they turned their attention back to Annalise and her husbands. It was her mother who finally answered, "Alright, since you are inviting us with such love, we will be there tomorrow morning for a meal together."

Annalise couldn’t hold back the smile that bloomed on her lips and she felt Kenric giving her shoulder a light squeeze before he finally let his hand slip from around her but still remained standing close to her.

"We are now heading to the mansion. You all should now return home too. We will see each other tomorrow." Grand Duke said as he looked at the three dark lords before finally shifting his attention to Annalise for a fleeting second.

The three lords bid their goodbyes to the Grand Duke and his wife, and Annalise watched as her parents turned to walk away toward the corridor leading out of the building.

"Mother, Father!"

Her voice was so weak as she finally found herself calling after them that she feared they won’t be able to hear her but both of them stopped in their tracks as soon as the words left her mouth.

Her parents turned around to face her as they patiently waited for her to say whatever she wanted but Annalise suddenly found her voice too heavy to speak anything. So instead of wasting any time in finding enough strength to speak, she decided to say what she wanted through her actions as she rushed straight into her mother’s arms who, despite being slightly taken aback, wrapped her arms around her daughter.

"Ana." Her mother whispered as she placed a soft kiss on top of Annalise’s head before tightening her arms around her and rocking both of them slightly.

Annalise almost felt like bursting into tears all over again but she didn’t want her mother to cry too with her so she somehow sustained herself and just remained in her mother’s warm embrace. It took her several long moments before she was finally able to pull away.

"Mother... Father..." She spoke while looking between her parents who were looking back at her with so much warmth and love in their eyes that she almost felt foolish for even thinking that her parents lied to her for any reason other than her happiness. "... Please forgive me for what I have done. I shouldn’t have..."

She didn’t get to finish as her father stopped her immediately. "It wasn’t your fault, Annalise. We should have told you about this when we knew that you were old enough to understand such matters. It was selfish of us to keep such a secret from you."

Annalise shook her head as she was ready to contradict her father’s words but didn’t get the chance as her father’s hand came to rest on the top of her head as he stated, "Let’s bygone be bygone. We should let all this pass by and focus on the future. Right?"

Not wanting to disappoint her father, she decided to do as he was suggesting. Letting out a small sigh, she nodded her in agreement to his words and stated - "Right!"